Teenage son, 100 series and a new stereo...

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Funner

Funner

10 Year
Joined
Jun 29, 2011
Threads
75
Messages
3,545
Location
Phoenix, AZ
I remember my first car, a 1980 VS Scirocco very fondly. Not long after buying it I installed a new stereo and installed some large home stereo speakers in the back. I would meet up with friends on the weekends down some fire trail that ended at one of 100s of lakes in northern MI and we would open my hatch and stand the speakers up in back, crank the radio, hang out around a fire and camp on the lake shore. Oh the memories.

Fast forward to now and I find myself needing to install a new stereo in my sons 1999 100 series. I have read a lot of threads and hope someone here has beat me to this point. I am hoping to just install the stereo with an aftermarket wiring harness and be done, maybe replace all the door speakers too. Will I have to mess with bypassing the amp, grabbing power from the amp input and then reconfigure the connectors at the amp, or can I just leave all that alone?
Appreciate the help.
 
You shouldn't need to touch the wiring at the amplifier. Just mate the stereo wiring harness and the factory wiring harness adapter then it is plug and play. Crutchfield.com has walk throughs for most vehicle stereo installs so you can see ahead of time what is involved.
 
Dimples said:
You shouldn't need to touch the wiring at the amplifier. Just mate the stereo wiring harness and the factory wiring harness adapter then it is plug and play. Crutchfield.com has walk throughs for most vehicle stereo installs so you can see ahead of time what is involved.
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Thanks, Ron. Maybe I have read too many threads about this topic. Many discuss the need to bypass the factory amp for some sound quality issues, some hissing sound from the old amp. The power for the head unit apparently goes through the amp, it sounds/sounded like I was in for more, but not sure.
 
Interesting question. I installed a aftermarket radio in my daughter's 94 FZJ80. That had the factory plugs to vehicle harness a well as the plug from the amp. That was just a matter of using the vehicle harness and unplugged the vehicle harness from the amp. That one my the amp was on the right side of the glove box. My 2000 100 series the amp was under the passenger's seat. Never pulled the factory head unit to see if it had the plugs that went straight to the vehicle to bypass the amp. I personally didn't think you could run a powered radio in series with the factory amp.:meh: The 94 FZJ80 still had the two standard plugs Toyota starting using around 87 and easy to adapt. The 2000 100 series plugs at the amp were completely different. The Tundra, 4Runner and Camry used this standard plug in the early 2000s making adapting into earlier Toyota pretty easy. Kept my 2000 100 series wiring manual which identifies the wires running between the head unit and amp. Plan is to use a factory head unit with a aftermarket five channel amp. Our 04 4Runner and 2010 Sequoia have Factory preminum sound systems I fell no need to upgrade. Our 99 4Runner and 89 FJ62 could use a upgrade. Plans for 4X series are to use single DIN Toyota preminum sound systems.
 
Dimples said:
You shouldn't need to touch the wiring at the amplifier. Just mate the stereo wiring harness and the factory wiring harness adapter then it is plug and play. Crutchfield.com has walk throughs for most vehicle stereo installs so you can see ahead of time what is involved.
Click to expand...

This is correctomondo ~ many of the new decks have 100 watts and with the new door speakers will make the sound come alive.

LOL - I had big home speakers in the back of my Vega too....good times back "in the day"...
 
Just make sure the new stereo is kid approved otherwise you will hear about it. Especially on a road trip and a certain device will not play the current gizmo.
 
splitshot said:
Just make sure the new stereo is kid approved otherwise you will hear about it. Especially on a road trip and a certain device will not play the current gizmo.
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Couldn't agree more. Make sure it has streaming bluetooth so he can play music off his phone with services like Spotify, Pandora & Apple Music.

Especially since Apple is dumping the headphone jack on the new version of the iPhone. That is assuming your family is cool and using apple products :)
 
murf said:
This is correctomondo ~ many of the new decks have 100 watts and with the new door speakers will make the sound come alive.

LOL - I had big home speakers in the back of my Vega too....good times back "in the day"...
Click to expand...


I wasn't thinking about speakers but the factory amp that was made for a line signal not a amplified one. As a kid playing around with home audio inputting a amplified signal into a another amp expecting a line signal didn't turn out well in the long run. The aftermarket sub woofer amp that came in my 99 4Runner has two different inputs. One for line another for amplified signal:meh:

What is this back in the day? My 68 still has a Radio Shack stereo (cassette/AM/FM) with Minumus 7 speakers. Speakers are loose making them great to move outside the 40 for music around the campfire. Inside they sit on floor on either side of the rear heater just behind the front seats. Speakers are pretty beat up but like most things I do have spares.:hillbilly:
 
great point: Bluetooth on new decks is a must ~
 
ElviMcCoy said:
@Funner Fire Trails? Are talking about Old Mission Peninsula? I ran those fire trails a bunch back in the early 80’s..... in my Jeep Cherokee Woody.
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Yup, among others. I lived out on the peninsula, even ditched a police car using one of those trails once upon a time. :steer:
 
mtkreitz said:
Couldn't agree more. Make sure it has streaming bluetooth so he can play music off his phone with services like Spotify, Pandora & Apple Music.

Especially since Apple is dumping the headphone jack on the new version of the iPhone. That is assuming your family is cool and using apple products :)
Click to expand...

This Bluetooth feature is the main reason we are doing the swap, so definitely kid approved. :grinpimp:
 
@Funner I graduated 85 from TC Central. My wife was a 86 grad. We moved back in 95 and have lived at the base of OMP since. Those trails out towards the lighthouse have been a great place to run my 60 from time to time. If you get back, PM me and first round of beers is on me.
 
Living in the Past said:
Still curious can you splice in at the head unit and series the two amps or should you wire the unit in front of the factory amp? I assume all US imported 100 series had premium sound with a separate amp?
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i hope your not asking me, I struggle with plugging in a lamp, damn wide and narrow plug prongs.
 
Cool thread. Those of you with home speakers in the back, am I the only one that had a oh so cool graphic equalizer in the dash and a color organ (different colored lights for bass, mid, and treble) in the kick panels? Replaced the factory plastic with some diffused transparent plastic and colored 12 volt bulbs. Even knew a guy that ran a power inverter and a home stereo receiver and huge home speakers, like Realistic Mach Ones (15" woofers). Yeah, the cops came by once in a while.
 
msahr said:
Cool thread. Those of you with home speakers in the back, am I the only one that had a oh so cool graphic equalizer in the dash and a color organ (different colored lights for bass, mid, and treble) in the kick panels? Replaced the factory plastic with some diffused transparent plastic and colored 12 volt bulbs. Even knew a guy that ran a power inverter and a home stereo receiver and huge home speakers, like Realistic Mach Ones (15" woofers). Yeah, the cops came by once in a while.
Click to expand...

Mine was a Realstic amp/equalizer with three gauges that kinda bounced around when music was playing. The higher the volume the bigger bounce range. I still have no idea if it even worked, but it looked cool.
 
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